One of the suburbs' finest is among the nation's finest of all

November 02, 2003

SCHAUMBURG — One of Schaumburg's finest is also one of the nation's finest.

Officer John Nebl, a Schaumburg police officer since 1987, was among 10 honorable mentions for the 2003 Police Office of the Year Award sponsored annually by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Parade magazine.

Nebl, who was in last week's Parade, was honored for his introduction of a "Crime Free Multi-Housing" program in Schaumburg, in which he instructs landlords on how to screen applicants, evict problem tenants and establish community-policing programs. The program, initiated in 1999, was credited with an 11 percent decline in police calls from the village's 18 major apartment complexes.

Nebl is setting up similar programs for Police Departments in Naperville, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Forest Park, Rockford and other communities.

According to Nebl, the program consists primarily of a free, eight-hour seminar for owners of multi-unit facilities.

The Village Board adopted an ordinance that requires the owners of multi-unit buildings to attend the training seminar, Nebl said, and they "roll up their sleeves" and make their presence known through their community-policing program.

"It's nice, because we're getting a lot of very positive feedback from a variety of people," Nebl said. "Landlords are thanking us, and neighbors to multihousing developments are saying they're seeing a difference. Police officers are also saying they are having to respond to fewer calls to those areas."

Nebl, 40, took the law-enforcement program at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines.